A lane recommendation method and device

Abstract

The application relates to a lane recommendation method and device, which is used for recommending a lane for a vehicle to pass through a road intersection, the road intersection has at least one straight and left-turn mixed lane and at least one straight lane, the lane is recommended to the vehicle based on the following information: the shortest queue vehicle number Nz of the straight lane in the same direction as the vehicle, the vehicle number Nh on the straight and left-turn mixed lane in the same direction as the vehicle, the longest queue vehicle number Nd of the straight lane in the opposite direction as the vehicle, the number N of vehicles intending to turn left on the straight and left-turn mixed lane, and the position n of the first vehicle intending to turn left on the straight and left-turn mixed lane. The application can effectively improve the vehicle passing efficiency at the road intersection by integrating the known information and making corresponding lane recommendations by using the advantages of the Internet of Vehicles and the road end detection.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of vehicle technology, specifically relating to a lane recommendation method and device. Background Technology

[0002] According to the People's Republic of China National Standard GB 5768-2009 "Road Traffic Signs and Markings," traffic markings are installed on roads. Road traffic markings include directional arrows to indicate the direction of travel for vehicles, including straight-ahead arrows, left-turn arrows, right-turn arrows, and arrows indicating either straight or left turns. At many intersections, due to lane limitations, straight-ahead or left-turn arrows are used to allow vehicles going straight or turning left to share a lane. Furthermore, at such intersections, traffic lights often do not differentiate between straight-ahead and left-turn traffic lights. These types of intersections are often those with low traffic volume. When the green light is on, both left-turning and straight-ahead vehicles can proceed; however, according to the law, left-turning vehicles must yield to oncoming straight-ahead vehicles.

[0003] In actual traffic, when a driver intending to go straight approaches the intersection, they will encounter the following situation: fewer vehicles are waiting at the red light in the mixed left-turn and straight-ahead lane, while more vehicles are waiting in the other straight-ahead lanes. For drivers who haven't yet chosen a lane, they are unsure whether there are any left-turning vehicles in the mixed lane or how many. Therefore, even though there are fewer vehicles in the mixed left-turn and straight-ahead lane, drivers cannot determine whether entering it is the best choice. This is because, although there are fewer vehicles in this lane, if there are left-turning vehicles ahead of them, the waiting time for those vehicles to wait for oncoming straight-ahead vehicles will be too long when the green light turns on. Going straight in the mixed lane will actually take longer than waiting in a straight-ahead lane. This reduces the intersection's traffic efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Therefore, the present invention proposes the following technical solution.

[0005] A lane recommendation method for recommending lanes through an intersection to vehicles intending to proceed straight through the intersection, the intersection having at least one mixed lane for straight and left turns and at least one straight lane, the method comprising:

[0006] Obtain the shortest queue of vehicles Nz in the straight lane in the same direction as the vehicle about to enter the intersection, the number of vehicles Nh in the shared straight and left-turn lane in the same direction as the vehicle about to enter the intersection, and the longest queue of vehicles Nd in the straight lane in the opposite direction to the vehicle about to enter the intersection. Also obtain the number N of vehicles intending to turn left in the shared straight and left-turn lane and the position n of the first vehicle intending to turn left in the shared straight and left-turn lane.

[0007] recommending a lane for the vehicle that is going to go straight through the intersection based on the obtained information.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, when N=0, if Nh<Nz, a shared straight and left-turn lane is recommended; otherwise, the lane with the shortest number of queued vehicles is recommended.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, when N≠0, if Nd>n-1 and Nd+Nh-(n-1)<Nz, a shared straight and left-turn lane is recommended; if Nd>n-1 and Nd+Nh-(n-1)>Nz, the lane with the shortest number of queued vehicles is recommended.

[0010] According to one aspect of the present invention, when N≠0, if Nd<n-1 and Nh<Nz, a shared straight and left-turn lane is recommended; otherwise, the lane with the shortest number of queued vehicles is recommended.

[0011] According to one aspect of the present invention, an image acquisition device is used to acquire the shortest number of queued vehicles Nz in straight-going lanes in the same direction as the vehicle that is going to enter the intersection, the number of vehicles Nh on the shared straight and left-turn lane in the same direction as the vehicle that is going to enter the intersection, and the maximum number of queued vehicles Nd in straight-going lanes in the opposite direction to the vehicle that is going to enter the intersection.

[0012] According to one aspect of the present invention, the number N of vehicles intending to turn left on the shared straight and left-turn lane is acquired through vehicle turn signal information and / or a navigation system.

[0013] According to one aspect of the present invention, the position n of the first vehicle intending to turn left on the shared straight and left-turn lane is determined by combining position information and turning information of the vehicle.

[0014] In addition, the present invention also provides a lane recommendation device, configured to recommend a lane for passing the intersection for vehicles that are going to go straight through the intersection, the intersection having at least one shared straight and left-turn lane and at least one straight-going lane, the lane recommendation device comprising:

[0015] a control unit, wherein the control unit acquires the shortest number of queued vehicles Nz in straight-going lanes in the same direction as the vehicle that is going to enter the intersection, the number of vehicles Nh on the shared straight and left-turn lane in the same direction as the vehicle that is going to enter the intersection, the maximum number of queued vehicles Nd in straight-going lanes in the opposite direction to the vehicle that is going to enter the intersection, acquires the number N of vehicles intending to turn left on the shared straight and left-turn lane and the position n of the first vehicle intending to turn left on the shared straight and left-turn lane, and recommends a lane for the vehicle that is going to go straight through the intersection based on the acquired information.

[0016] According to one aspect of the invention, it further includes a communication unit capable of communicating with a vehicle to receive steering and position information of the vehicle and to send recommended lane information to the vehicle that is about to proceed straight through the intersection.

[0017] According to one aspect of the invention, the control unit further includes an image acquisition device, wherein the control unit acquires, based on the image acquired by the image acquisition device, the shortest queue of vehicles Nz in the same direction as the vehicle about to enter the intersection in the straight lane, the number of vehicles Nh in the same direction in the mixed straight and left-turn lane as the vehicle about to enter the intersection, and the longest queue of vehicles Nd in the opposite direction in the straight lane as the vehicle about to enter the intersection.

[0018] As can be seen from the above scheme, the present invention can utilize the advantages of vehicle networking and roadside detection to effectively improve the traffic efficiency at intersections by integrating known information and making corresponding lane recommendations.

[0019] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0021] Figure 1 The structure of the vehicle and the roadside unit is shown.

[0022] Figure 2 A plan view of a typical intersection is shown.

[0023] Figure 3 A plan view showing vehicles passing through the intersection is provided.

[0024] Figure 4 A diagram illustrating the working process of lane recommendation according to the present invention is shown.

[0025] All accompanying drawings are schematic only and are not necessarily drawn to scale. Furthermore, they only show those parts necessary to illustrate the invention; other parts are omitted or merely mentioned. That is, the invention may include other parts besides those shown in the drawings. Detailed Implementation

[0026] The technical solution of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] Embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to enable those skilled in the art to more fully understand and implement the invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that implementations of the invention may not include some of these specific details. Furthermore, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described. Rather, the invention can be conceived to be practiced with any combination of the features and elements described below, regardless of whether they relate to different embodiments. Therefore, the following aspects, features, embodiments, and advantages are for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as features or limitations of the claims unless expressly set forth in the claims.

[0028] See Figure 1 The vehicle includes a vehicle direction output unit 101. In one possible embodiment, the vehicle direction output unit 101 is a turn signal stalk. When a driver intends to turn, he activates the turn signal stalk to indicate the future direction of his vehicle. In the context of this invention, if a vehicle is in a left-turn / straight-ahead mixed lane and the driver intends to turn left, he activates the turn signal stalk to indicate his intention to other road users; if he intends to go straight, there is no need to activate the turn signal stalk.

[0029] Alternatively, the vehicle direction output unit 101 can be an in-vehicle navigation device. Based on the vehicle's position and planned route in the in-vehicle navigation device, the in-vehicle navigation device can output the vehicle's direction of travel.

[0030] The vehicle also has an information output device 102 for outputting information to the driver. The information output device 102 may be a central control screen of the vehicle, which can display visual information. The information output device 102 may also be a voice broadcast system, such as a speaker, to play voice information.

[0031] The vehicle also has an onboard communication unit 103. The onboard communication unit 103 is capable of sending information to or receiving information from the outside world. For example, the onboard communication unit 103 can obtain the vehicle's driving direction information from the vehicle driving direction output unit 101 and send it to the roadside unit, which will be described below, and can also receive lane recommendation information from the roadside unit.

[0032] The vehicle also has an on-board computing unit 104. As the central control unit of the vehicle, the on-board computing unit 104 controls the information output device 102 to output corresponding information based on the information received by the on-board communication unit 103.

[0033] Figure 1The diagram also shows a roadside unit. Specifically, the roadside unit includes a roadside computing unit 111, a camera 112, and a roadside communication unit 113. The roadside unit can transmit information to vehicles through the roadside communication unit 113 and can also receive information from the camera 112. The roadside computing unit 111 is the central control unit of the entire roadside unit, capable of calculating the received information and outputting corresponding information.

[0034] In this invention, camera 112 is used to acquire the number of vehicles in the lane. Of course, this function can also be achieved by vehicles in the lane sending information to the roadside unit.

[0035] The above is a description of the functional modules of the vehicle and roadside unit. Figure 2 This schematically illustrates a typical intersection plan. From Figure 2 As can be seen, in the two opposing driving directions, each direction has three lanes. The leftmost lane is a mixed lane for straight and left turns (201), and the other two lanes are straight lanes (202). In actual scenarios, there may also be right-turn only lanes or mixed right-turn and straight lanes. However, since the purpose of this invention is to provide lane selection prompts for vehicles going straight at the intersection, right-turn only lanes are not considered. Figure 2 Although the lane for both straight and right turns is not shown, it is taken into account in the calculation process that will be described in detail below.

[0036] Figure 2 Vehicle 205 is also shown, which is equipped with Figure 1 The various parts shown. Figure 2 The diagram also shows a signal light pole 203 pointing in the same direction and a signal light pole 204 pointing in opposite directions. Traffic lights are installed on the signal light pole 203 pointing in the same direction and the signal light pole 204 pointing in opposite directions to indicate whether vehicles should proceed using red and green lights.

[0037] Figure 3 A plan view showing vehicles passing through the intersection is provided. Figure 3 In the middle, on each of the two opposing lanes, several vehicles are stopped, waiting for the red light to turn green. For example... Figure 3 As shown in the lower right corner, a vehicle traveling straight is about to enter an intersection. At this point, the vehicle has three choices: three lanes for going straight. The number of vehicles in each lane is different, and the future routes of vehicles in the leftmost lane (a shared lane for both straight and left turns) are unknown; that is, it is unknown whether there are any vehicles turning left in the leftmost lane, or their exact location. Under these circumstances, the present invention can... Figure 4 The illustrated process provides lane selection suggestions for the driver's reference. Figure 3In this context, the maximum number of queued vehicles in the opposite straight lane is recorded as Nd, the number of vehicles in the same-direction mixed straight and left-turn lane is recorded as Nh, and the maximum number of queued vehicles in the same-direction straight lane is recorded as Nd. As mentioned above, Nd, Nh and Nz can be obtained through the camera 112 in the roadside unit, or can be obtained when vehicles send their own information to the roadside unit.

[0038] The following is a description combined with Figure 3 , Figure 4 to illustrate the working process of the lane selection prompting system of the present invention. As shown in Figure 3 , when a vehicle approaches the intersection, the roadside communication unit sends the road selection recommendation information calculated by the roadside unit to the vehicle, and the information output device 102 of the vehicle outputs the recommendation information to the driver in the form of sound or image.

[0039] Specifically, after the red light is on, when a first vehicle enters the mixed lane for waiting, if the vehicle intends to turn left, the driver turns on the left turn signal through the signal lever, the left turn information is sent to the vehicle-mounted communication unit by the vehicle-mounted computing unit, then sent to the roadside communication unit by the vehicle-mounted communication unit, and then stored in the roadside computing unit. Of course, as mentioned above, the left turn information of the vehicle can also be obtained from the vehicle driving trajectory in the vehicle-mounted navigation system. By analogy, the roadside computing unit accumulates all vehicles intending to turn left in the mixed lane, and this accumulated sum is recorded as N. Meanwhile, each vehicle in the mixed lane sends its position information to the roadside computing unit through the communication unit. The roadside computing unit combines the vehicle position information and the left turn intention information to calculate the queuing sequence number of the first left-turn vehicle in the queue, which is recorded as n.

[0040] In addition, the roadside unit also acquires the maximum number of queued vehicles Nd in the opposite straight lane, the number of vehicles Nh in the same-direction mixed straight and left-turn lane, and the maximum number of queued vehicles Nz in the same-direction straight lane.

[0041] Subsequently, the roadside computing unit makes the following judgments:

[0042] When N=0, that is, there is no left-turn vehicle in the mixed lane, continue to judge:

[0043] When Nh<Nz, that is, the number of vehicles in the mixed lane is less than that in the straight lane with the shortest queue, the mixed lane is recommended; otherwise, the straight lane with the shortest queue is recommended. This is case ①.

[0044] When N≠0, it is necessary to determine which of the through lane in the same direction and the mixed lane can pass through the intersection faster. It should be noted that there may be both through vehicles and left-turn vehicles in the mixed lane, and only after the first left-turn vehicle in the queue enters the intersection will the mixed lane start to stop and wait for the oncoming lane to pass. That is, in this case, the passing efficiency of the mixed lane depends on the position of the first left-turn vehicle in the vehicle queue.

[0045] When Nd>n-1 holds, that is, before the first left-turn vehicle enters the intersection, the oncoming vehicles have not completely passed through the intersection, it is necessary to compare the time for the oncoming through lane and the same-direction mixed lane to completely pass the intersection with the passing time of the same-direction shortest through lane, that is, to check whether Nd+Nh-(n-1)<Nz holds:

[0046] If the inequality holds, the mixed lane is regarded as having better passing efficiency, and the system recommends the mixed lane; otherwise, it recommends the through lane with the shortest queue. This is case ②.

[0047] When Nd>n-1 does not hold, that is, when the left-turn vehicle in the mixed lane enters the intersection, the oncoming vehicles have completely passed and no waiting is required, the recommendation is made by comparing Nh and Nz by reference to case ①. This is case ③.

[0048] In this way, the driver can obtain the recommendation information of the lane that can pass through the intersection fastest before entering the intersection, thereby improving the passing efficiency.

[0049] In addition, although Figure 4 illustrates that counting is performed only when the signal light is red, this is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. When the light is red, the vehicles ahead of the vehicle that is about to select a lane are already stationary, and the number of vehicles obtained by the camera is relatively accurate at this time. However, it is obvious that the present invention can also be implemented regardless of whether the traffic light is red or green.

[0050] The present invention has been clearly and completely described with reference to the above schematic exemplary embodiments. Those skilled in the art should understand that various other embodiments can be conceived through modifications to the disclosed technical solution without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. These embodiments should be understood to fall within the scope of the present invention defined by the claims and any equivalent technical solutions thereof.

Claims

1. A lane recommendation method, configured to recommend a lane for passing an intersection to a vehicle that is going to pass the intersection straight, wherein the intersection has at least one through-and-left-turn shared lane and at least one through lane, and the method comprises: acquiring the minimum number of queued vehicles Nz in a through lane in the same direction as the vehicle about to enter the intersection, the number of vehicles Nh in the through-and-left-turn shared lane in the same direction as the vehicle about to enter the intersection, the maximum number of queued vehicles Nd in a through lane in the opposite direction to the vehicle about to enter the intersection, and acquiring the number N of vehicles intending to turn left in the through-and-left-turn shared lane and the position n of the first vehicle intending to turn left in the through-and-left-turn shared lane, recommending a lane for the vehicle going to pass the intersection straight based on the acquired information, when N=0, if Nh<Nz, recommending the through-and-left-turn shared lane; otherwise, recommending the lane with the minimum number of queued vehicles, when N≠0, if Nd>n-1 and Nd+Nh-(n-1)<Nz, recommending the through-and-left-turn shared lane; if Nd>n-1 and Nd+Nh-(n-1)>Nz, recommending the lane with the minimum number of queued vehicles, when N≠0, if Nd<n-1 and Nh<Nz, recommending the through-and-left-turn shared lane; otherwise, recommending the lane with the minimum number of queued vehicles.

2. The lane recommendation method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the minimum number of queued vehicles Nz in a through lane in the same direction as the vehicle about to enter the intersection, the number of vehicles Nh in the through-and-left-turn shared lane in the same direction as the vehicle about to enter the intersection and the maximum number of queued vehicles Nd in a through lane in the opposite direction to the vehicle about to enter the intersection are acquired by an image acquisition device.

3. The lane recommendation method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the number N of vehicles intending to turn left in the through-and-left-turn shared lane is acquired through turn signal information and / or a navigation system of the vehicle.

4. The lane recommendation method according to claim 3, characterized in that, the position n of the first vehicle intending to turn left in the through-and-left-turn shared lane is determined in combination with position information and turning information of the vehicle.

5. A lane recommendation device, configured to recommend a lane for passing an intersection to a vehicle that is going to pass the intersection straight, wherein the intersection has at least one through-and-left-turn shared lane and at least one through lane, and the lane recommendation device comprises: a control unit, wherein the control unit acquires the minimum number of queued vehicles Nz in a through lane in the same direction as the vehicle about to enter the intersection, the number of vehicles Nh in the through-and-left-turn shared lane in the same direction as the vehicle about to enter the intersection, the maximum number of queued vehicles Nd in a through lane in the opposite direction to the vehicle about to enter the intersection, acquires the number N of vehicles intending to turn left in the through-and-left-turn shared lane and the position n of the first vehicle intending to turn left in the through-and-left-turn shared lane, and recommends a lane for the vehicle going to pass the intersection straight based on the acquired information, when N=0, if Nh<Nz, the control unit recommends the through-and-left-turn shared lane; otherwise, the control unit recommends the lane with the minimum number of queued vehicles, When N≠0, if Nd>n-1 and Nd+Nh-(n-1)<Nz, a shared straight and left-turn lane is recommended; if Nd>n-1 and Nd+Nh-(n-1) >Nz, the lane with the minimum queuing vehicle number is recommended, When N≠0, if Nd<n-1 and Nh<Nz, a shared straight and left-turn lane is recommended; otherwise, the lane with the minimum queuing vehicle number is recommended.

6. The lane recommendation device according to claim 5, characterized in that, The system further comprises a communication unit, wherein the communication unit can communicate with vehicles to receive steering information and position information of said vehicles, and send information of the recommended lane to the vehicles that are going to pass straight through the intersection.

7. The lane recommendation device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, The system further comprises an image acquisition device, and said control unit acquires, according to images acquired by said image acquisition device, the minimum queuing vehicle number Nz of straight lanes in the same direction as vehicles about to enter the intersection, the vehicle number Nh on shared straight and left-turn lanes in the same direction as vehicles about to enter the intersection, and the maximum queuing vehicle number Nd of straight lanes in the opposite direction to vehicles about to enter the intersection.

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